FIRST REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION.
"Free Soil, Free Men, Free Speech, Fremont."
_Republican Rallying Cry_, 1856.
The opening of 1856 found the country in a turmoil of political
excitement and anxiety. Late in January, President Pierce, in a special
message, recognized the pro-slavery Legislature of Kansas, and called
the attempt to establish a Free-state Government in that Territory an
act of rebellion. This continued subserviency of the Administration to
the Slave Power so aroused the North that two days later the
Anti-Nebraska members in the House forced through a resolution by a vote
of one hundred and one to one hundred, declaring that the Missouri
Compromise ought to be restored, but nothing further could be done with
the resolution. The House at this time was dead-locked over the election
of a Speaker, which was not settled, as we have seen, until February 2d.
The situation in Kansas was daily growing more acute, and had the
natural effect of creating great bitterness both in the North and the
South, and this general unsettled and threatening state of affairs and
public opinion confronted the political parties on the eve of another
presidential campaign.
The Republican State leaders had decided on an attempt at a National
Organization and Convention, and on January 17, 1856, the following call
was issued:
"_To the Republicans of the United States:_
"In accordance with what appears to be a general desire of the
Republican party, and at the suggestion of a large portion of the
Republican Press, the undersigned, Chairmen of the State Republican
Committees of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin, hereby invite the Republicans of
the Union to meet in informal Convention at Pittsburg on the 22d of
February, 1856, for the purpose of perfecting the National Organization,
and providing for a National Delegate Convention of the Republican Party
at some subsequent day, to nominate candidates for the Presidency and
Vice-Presidency, to be supported at the election in November, 1856.
"A. P. STONE, of Ohio,
"J. Z. GOODRICH, of Massachusetts,
"DAVID WILMOT, of Pennsylvania,
"LAWRENCE BRAINARD, of Vermont,
"WILLIAM A. WHITE, of Wisconsin."
Because of lack of time the names of the other State Chairmen mentioned
in the body of the call were not obtained, but they all approved it by
letter. The Pittsburg Convention was to be merely preliminary to the
National Convention, but it developed unexpected enthusiasm, and it was
seen by the friends of freedom that at last a great National Party was
in the field, determined to oppose slavery to the utmost, and to remain
until the victory should be won.
Twenty-four States, sixteen free and eight slave, sent their
representatives to the Pittsburg meeting. Lawrence Brainard, of Vermont,
called the Convention to order, and the delegates chose John A. King, of
New York, for temporary Chairman. After a prayer by Owen Lovejoy,
brother of the murdered Abolitionist, the Committee on Permanent
Organization reported the venerable Francis P. Blair, of Maryland, for
President of the Convention, who accepted the honor and read an
elaborate paper on the situation, which was listened to with marked
attention. The names of eighteen prominent Republicans were presented
for Vice-Presidents and five for Secretaries. A Committee was appointed
to draft an address to the people of the country. Earnest, hopeful and
enthusiastic speeches were made by Horace Greeley, Zachariah Chandler,
Preston King, David Wilmot, Joshua R. Giddings, George W. Julian, and
others, and a strong Freedom letter was read from Cassius M. Clay. The
Committee on Resolutions reported a lengthy address to the people of the
United States, setting forth the crimes and continued aggressions of the
Slave Power, and closing with three Resolutions, demanding the repeal,
and pledging the party to labor for the repeal, of all laws which
allowed the introduction of slavery into territory once consecrated to
freedom, and declared its purpose to resist by all constitutional means
the existence of slavery in any of the Territories of the United States;
pledging the Republicans to the support, by every lawful means, of the
brethren in Kansas, and to use every political power to obtain the
immediate admission of Kansas as a free State; and denounced the
National Administration and pledged the party to oppose and overthrow
it. A National Committee, headed by Edwin D. Morgan, of New York, was
then chosen and the preliminary Convention adjourned on February 23d to
await the call of the National Committee.
From Washington, on March 29, 1856, the National Committee issued this
call for the First National Convention:
"The people of the United States, without regard to past political
differences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise, to the policy of the present Administration, to the
extension of slavery into the Territories, in favor of the admission of
Kansas as a free State, and restoring the action of the Federal
Government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson, are invited by
the National Committee, appointed by the Pittsburg Convention on the 22d
of February, 1856, to send from each State three delegates from every
Congressional District, and six delegates at large, to meet at
Philadelphia on the 17th day of June next, for the purpose of
recommending candidates to be supported for the offices of President and
Vice-President of the United States."
Pursuant to this call, the first Republican National Convention convened
at Philadelphia, in the Musical Fund Hall, on June 17, 1856, the
anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, and was called to order by
Edwin D. Morgan, Chairman of the National Committee. Every Northern
State, and also Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia, and the
Territories of Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and the District of
Columbia, were represented by full delegations, and there were probably
between eight hundred and one thousand delegates in attendance. Robert
Emmet, of New York, formerly a Democrat, was made temporary chairman,
and accepted the honor in an eloquent and stirring speech. After prayer,
Committees on Credentials, Resolutions and Permanent Organization were
then appointed. The latter committee reported Henry S. Lane, of Indiana,
as President of the Convention, and the names of twenty-four
Vice-Presidents and a number of Secretaries. The first National Platform
of the Republican Party was then reported by David Wilmot and was
adopted with thunders of applause and amid scenes of the highest
enthusiasm.
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL PLATFORM, 1856.
This convention of delegates, assembled in pursuance of a call addressed
to the people of the United States, without regard to past political
differences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise, to the policy of the present administration, to the
extension of slavery into free territory; in favor of admitting Kansas
as a free State, of restoring the action of the Federal government to
the principles of Washington and Jefferson; and who purpose to unite in
presenting candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President,
do resolve as follows:
_Resolved_, That the maintenance or the principles promulgated in the
Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution is
essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions, and that
the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the union of the
States, shall be preserved.
_Resolved_, That, with our Republican fathers, we hold it to be a
self-evident truth, that all men are endowed with the unalienable rights
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that the primary
object and ulterior designs of our federal government were to secure
these rights to all persons within its exclusive jurisdiction; that, as
our Republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our
national territory, ordained that no person should be deprived of life,
liberty or property without due process of law, it becomes our duty to
maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to
violate it for the purpose of establishing slavery in any Territory of
the United States, by positive legislation prohibiting its extension
therein; that we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial
legislature, of any individual or association of individuals, to give
legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States while
the present Constitution shall be maintained.
_Resolved_, That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power
over the territories of the United States for their government, and that
in the exercise of this power it is both the right and the duty of
Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism--
polygamy and slavery.
_Resolved_, That while the Constitution of the United States was
ordained and established by the people in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty, and contains ample provisions for the protection of life,
liberty and property of every citizen, the dearest Constitutional rights
of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently taken from
them; their territory has been invaded by an armed force; spurious and
pretended legislative, judicial and executive officers have been set
over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power
of the government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been
enacted and enforced; the right of the people to keep and bear arms has
been infringed; test oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature
have been imposed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and
holding office; the right of an accused person to a speedy and public
trial by an impartial jury has been denied; the right of the people to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures, has been violated; they have been
deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law; the
freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged; the right to
choose their representatives has been made of no effect; murders,
robberies and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the
offenders have been allowed to go unpunished; that all these things have
been done with the knowledge, sanction and procurement of the present
administration; and that for this high crime against the Constitution,
the Union and humanity, we arraign the administration, the President,
his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists and accessories, either
before or after the fact, before the country and before the world; and
that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these
atrocious outrages and their accomplices to a sure and condign
punishment hereafter.
_Resolved_, That Kansas should immediately be admitted as a State of the
Union, with her present free constitution, as at once the most effectual
way of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the rights and
privileges to which they are entitled, and of ending the civil strife
now raging in her territory.
_Resolved_, That the highwayman's plea that "Might makes right,"
embodied in the Ostend circular, was in every respect unworthy of
American diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor upon any
government or people that gave it their sanction.
_Resolved_, That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, by the most central
and practicable route, is imperatively demanded by the interests of the
whole country, and that the Federal government ought to render immediate
and efficient aid in its construction; and, as an auxiliary thereto, to
the immediate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the
railroad.
_Resolved_, That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of
rivers and harbors of a national character, required for the
accommodation and security of our existing commerce, are authorized by
the Constitution and justified by the obligation of government to
protect the lives and property of its citizens.
_Resolved_, That we invite the affiliation and co-operation of freemen
of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support
of the principles herein declared, and believing that the spirit of our
institutions, as well as the Constitution of our country, guarantees
liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citizens, we oppose
all legislation impairing their security.
The time now came to ballot for a candidate for President, but he had
been practically decided on some time before the Convention met. The
merits of four men had been thoroughly discussed in connection with this
honor--Salmon P. Chase and Judge John McLean of Ohio, William H.
Seward, of New York, and John C. Fremont of California. Senator Chase
had been too open in his opposition to slavery to be available, and his
name was withdrawn; Mr. Seward, influenced by Thurlow Weed, did not wish
the nomination, and this fact became known several months before the
Convention. McLean, of the United States Supreme Court, was strongly
favored by many, because it was felt that he alone of the candidates
mentioned could carry Pennsylvania, which had already been figured as
the pivotal State. The candidate deemed most available was John C.
Fremont, whose political experience had been brief, a term from
California in the United States Senate, and he would therefore arouse no
bitter personal antagonism by reason of his political record. He had
been a Democrat, but was in accord with the principles of the Republican
Party; in addition, he had a good record in the Army, and was widely
known for his explorations in the Rockies. His wife was the daughter of
Senator Thomas C. Benton, of Missouri, and altogether he was an
attractive and, it appeared at the time, a shrewdly selected candidate.
[Illustration: John C. Fremont, First Republican Candidate for President.]
There were no formal nominating speeches, but the names of all who had
been discussed as candidates had been mentioned in the many enthusiastic
speeches which were made during the Convention. An informal ballot gave
Fremont 359; McLean 190; Sumner 2; Seward 1. A formal ballot was then
immediately taken and Fremont received the entire vote of the Convention
except 37 for McLean, 1 for Seward, and the Virginia vote, which was not
cast because its delegation was not organized; the nomination was then
made unanimous. The next day an informal ballot was taken for
Vice-President. William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, received 253 votes;
Abraham Lincoln, 110; N. P. Banks, 46; David Wilmot, 43; Charles Sumner,
35, and some votes each for Henry Wilson, Jacob Collamer, Joshua R.
Giddings, Cassius M. Clay, Henry C. Carey, John A. King, Thomas Ford,
Whitefield S. Johnson, Aaron S. Pennington and Samuel C. Pomeroy. Mr.
Lincoln was not a candidate for the office, and was named without his
knowledge, and he was greatly surprised, several days later, when he
learned of it. When his name was put in nomination--the second
mentioned--inquiries as to who he was came from all parts of the hall.
Mr. Lincoln's speech before the Bloomington Convention, in Illinois, had
turned the eyes of the Republican Party in that State to him as its
leader, and the Illinois Delegation to the National Convention knew well
enough who he was, but his time had not yet come. Mr. Dayton received
the nomination for Vice-President on the formal ballot and it was made
unanimous. After appointing a committee, headed by Henry S. Lane, of
Indiana, to notify the candidates of their nominations, and listening to
a number of enthusiastic speeches, the Convention adjourned on June
19th. In one of the speeches reference was made to "Free Speech, Free
Press, Free Soil, Free Kansas," when one of the delegates interrupted,
"and Fremont"; the utterance and its amendment, with some abridgment,
became one of the rallying cries of the campaign.
The selection of Mr. Fremont had also been influenced by the fact that
he was looked upon with favor by those delegates who withdrew from the
American or Know-Nothing Convention. The Know-Nothings had held their
Convention on February 22d, and had nominated Millard Fillmore for
President and A. J. Donelson for Vice-President. The delegates from New
England, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Iowa, being unable to secure
an Anti-Slavery Extension Plank in the Platform, seceded and soon
afterwards nominated Fremont for President, and William F. Johnston, of
Pennsylvania, for Vice-President.
On September 17th the remnant of the Whig Party met at Philadelphia and
adopted the nominees of the American Party, Fillmore and Donelson. This
Convention and their votes in the ensuing election marked the last
appearance of the Whig Party in politics.
The Democrats held their Convention in Cincinnati on June 3d, before the
Republican Convention was held, and nominated James Buchanan, of
Pennsylvania, for President, and John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for
Vice-President. President Pierce and Senator Douglas were both
candidates for the presidential nomination, but were withdrawn on the
fifteenth and sixteenth ballots because the South had already selected a
candidate. Mr. Buchanan had been absent as Minister to England during
the turmoil over the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. In addition, he
came from a Northern State, and was therefore doubly attractive as a
candidate; for the South, with its 112 electoral votes, needed 37 more
votes to elect their candidate, and Pennsylvania, with 27 votes, was
looked on as the pivotal State.
The Democratic Platform, as usual, denounced the Abolitionists, and
repeated its hollow promise of 1852, that the party would resist all
attempts at renewing the agitation of the slavery question. It denounced
the Republican Party as "sectional, and subsisting exclusively on
slavery agitation," and it contained the following remarkable and
artfully worded plank:
"_Resolved_, That we recognize the right of the people of all the
Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, acting through the legally
and fairly expressed will of a majority of actual residents, and
whenever the number of their inhabitants justifies it, to form a
Constitution, with or without domestic slavery, and be admitted into the
Union upon terms of perfect equality with other States."
The ambiguous part of this plank was the insertion of the right of the
inhabitants to form a Constitution with or without domestic slavery. Mr.
Douglas and the other Democratic speakers argued in the North that this
meant that the people of the Territory had the right to decide for or
against slavery, but the South looked upon it as fully protecting
slavery in any Territory until a Constitution could be formed. In the
North and South the plank obtained votes for the party, but the votes
were cast in the respective sections on diametrically opposed grounds.
The political situation in this campaign was somewhat complicated at
first by the presentation of so many candidates, for, in addition to the
candidates already named, the Abolitionists presented a ticket, as did
also a number of Americans, who seceded from the second convention of
that party, but the situation gradually resolved itself into a contest
between Buchanan, Fremont and Fillmore. No electoral tickets were
presented for Fremont in the slave States, and the fact that Fillmore
could not carry any of the free States weakened him in the South, and it
was seen that Buchanan would receive the solid electoral vote of the
South, and that the contest would therefore be between Buchanan and
Fremont for the Northern electoral votes.
The struggle in Kansas was inseparably connected with the campaign of
1856. That struggle was virtually the opening of the Civil War, and
while the North and South fought out the issue with bullets in Kansas,
in the other States of the two sections the contest was no less bitter,
although the means were less destructive. Before either of the great
political conventions were held, Lawrence, Kansas, was captured and
sacked by the Pro-Slavery Party, and on the following day (May 22d)
Charles Sumner was struck down in the Senate by Preston S. Brooks, of
South Carolina, because of his speech, "The Crime against Kansas." These
events picture the feeling between the North and South which existed
during this campaign. The South had probably already felt that if they
went into the campaign solely on their cause they would be defeated,
hence the nomination of a Northern Democrat from a necessary State, and
the artful construction of their platform. The enthusiasm of the
Republicans was probably more for their cause than for the candidate.
The Democrats in the North evaded the issue of slavery as much as
possible, and denounced the candidacy of Fremont as sectional, and that
his success would mean the dissolution of the Union, a weighty argument
with thousands of voters, especially those who were attached to the
South by financial and commercial bonds. The speeches of the Southern
leaders and the press of the South abounded in threats of disunion in
the event of Fremont's election. The Republicans, unhampered by a
southern wing and advocating the restriction of a great moral wrong,
went into the campaign with the earnestness and enthusiasm of a
religious crusade. They carried on a clean campaign of education, and
tons of political literature were scattered broadcast over the country.
The young men of the North were especially attracted to the Republican
Cause, and it was recognized that their vote would be a great aid; and
the influence of the women of the country was distinctly with the new
party. The clergy, the religious press and most of the eminent
professors and educated men of the North also lent their potent forces
to the new party.
The issues presented in the campaign of 1856, like those of 1860, were
the most remarkable in our political history, and a canvass attended by
such circumstances and so portentous in results could not but be
exciting in the highest degree, and the bitterness of the situation grew
in intensity as the days of the fall elections approached. All eyes now
turned with anxiety on the few State elections which were to be held in
the North prior to the presidential election in November, because they
would unquestionably foreshadow the final result. Iowa came first, and,
in August, went Republican, and was joined in September by Maine and
Vermont, both overwhelmingly Republican. These successes were to the
highest gratification of the members of the new party, and now came the
final test, the October elections in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio. The
first of these States, with its twenty-seven electoral votes, was the
most important. Thousands of dollars were poured into the campaign funds
of the State by both sides, the Democratic Committee having the greater
amount to spend and having the better organization. Several hundred
speakers, representing both sides, traversed the State in all
directions. The Democrats used the disunion argument with great effect,
and added to it the campaign cry of "Buck, Breck and Free Kansas," and
on October 14th Pennsylvania went Democratic by a very narrow majority.
Ohio, as was expected, went Republican, but Indiana was lost, and the
result of the presidential issue was thus practically known before the
election, on November 4th. Fremont received the electoral votes of
Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont,
New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin, one hundred and fourteen
in all. Buchanan received the vote of all the slave States and
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois and California, a total of
one hundred and seventy-four votes; the eight votes of Maryland going to
Fillmore, the only State won by the Know-Nothings. The popular vote gave
Buchanan 1,838,169; Fremont 1,341,264; Fillmore 874,534. The popular
vote of South Carolina is not included, as the electors in that State
were chosen by her Legislature.
When the first wave of bitter disappointment passed away, the
Republicans saw the enormous headway that had been made and they
immediately began to prepare for the national contest four years hence.
The Democrats had lost ten States which they carried in 1852, and their
electoral vote of 254 in 1852 had shrunken to 174. The South elected
Buchanan, and he became the tool of the Slave Power, and, as subsequent
events developed, it was fortunate that the Republicans were not
successful in the campaign.
[Illustration: William H. Seward.]